ISO 10001-2018 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 10001:2018 — Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for codes of conduct for organizations. This standard provides guidance for planning, designing, developing, implementing, maintaining and improving customer‑facing codes of conduct (customer satisfaction codes of conduct) that contain promises made to customers about an organisation’s behaviour and related provisions aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction.

Abstract

ISO 10001:2018 gives practical guidance to organisations of any type or size (including those that design codes of conduct for others) on creating product‑ and service‑related customer satisfaction codes of conduct. It includes examples of code components (Annex A), guidance for small businesses (Annex C) and explains how codes interact with complaints handling, dispute resolution and customer satisfaction measurement processes. The document does not prescribe the substantive content of codes and is not intended for certification or to change legal obligations.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: July 2018 (15 July 2018).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 03.120.10 — Quality management and quality assurance.
• Edition / version: Edition 2 (2018).
• Number of pages: 22 pages (English edition).

Scope

Applies to product‑ and service‑related customer satisfaction codes of conduct that contain promises made to customers about organisational behaviour, and associated provisions (for example contact details, conditions, limitations, complaints provisions). It is primarily aimed at codes concerning individual customers purchasing or using goods, property or services for personal or household purposes, but is applicable to other customer satisfaction codes as well. The standard does not cover codes relating to interactions between an organisation and its personnel or suppliers, and it does not prescribe the substantive content of a code.

Key topics and requirements

• Guidance on planning, design and development of codes (objectives, stakeholder input, drafting, performance indicators and resourcing).
• Implementation advice for integrating the code with customer touchpoints, communications and staff responsibilities.
• Maintenance and continual improvement processes (monitoring, measurement, review and revision of the code).
• Annex A: simplified examples of code components and templates; Annex C: guidance for small businesses.
• Clarification of the relationship between codes, internal complaints handling, external dispute resolution and customer satisfaction measurement (links to ISO 10002, ISO 10003 and ISO 10004).

Typical use and users

Used by organisations that want to set clear, measurable customer commitments to reduce misunderstandings and complaints and to improve trust and customer experience. Typical users include quality managers, customer experience (CX) and compliance teams, service providers and retailers, manufacturers, associations that draft codes on behalf of members, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (see Annex C), and regulators or dispute‑resolution bodies aligning expectations.

Related standards

Part of the ISO customer‑satisfaction guidance family and aligned with ISO 9001/9004. Closely related documents are ISO 10002 (Guidelines for complaints handling in organisations), ISO 10003 (Guidelines for dispute resolution external to organisations) and ISO 10004 (Guidelines for monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction). ISO 10001:2018 revises ISO 10001:2007.

Keywords

customer satisfaction, code of conduct, code of practice, promises to customers, complaints prevention, complaints handling, dispute resolution, CX, quality management, ISO 10001, ISO 10000 series, SME guidance.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 10001:2018 provides guidance for organisations to create and manage customer satisfaction codes of conduct — clear, public commitments about how the organisation will behave toward customers.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the planning, design, development, implementation, maintenance and improvement of customer satisfaction codes of conduct for product‑ and service‑related commitments, plus examples and SME guidance in annexes. It does not prescribe specific code content or apply to internal personnel/supplier codes.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Quality, customer experience and compliance teams; service providers, retailers and manufacturers; associations and regulators; and SMEs that want to document and communicate consistent customer commitments.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 10001:2018 is the current (2018) edition and it replaces ISO 10001:2007. The standard was published in July 2018 and remains the valid edition unless formally revised by ISO.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it forms part of the ISO customer satisfaction guidance family (commonly referenced together with ISO 10002, ISO 10003 and ISO 10004) and is aligned with ISO 9001/9004 quality management principles.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Customer satisfaction, code of conduct, complaints prevention, CX, quality management, ISO 10001, SMEs, dispute resolution, monitoring and measurement.